Bridging the gender gap in occupational wellbeing: a pilot intervention based on psychoeducation in judicial office...

Occupational wellbeing is critical for organizational effectiveness in high-pressure public sectors, yet gender-neutral interventions often overlook nuanced identity dynamics. This exploratory pilot study evaluated a five-month, preventive, group-based psychoeducational intervention designed to moderate psychological risk and enhance emotional intelligence among 27 professionals in an Italian public security agency. Pre- and post-intervention evaluations assessed changes in emotional intelligence (WLEIS), psychological injury risk (PIRI), and job-related affective wellbeing (JAWS), alongside qualitative thematic analysis of focus group transcripts. Post-intervention trends suggested subtle, sex-disaggregated and age-moderated shifts: while female participants demonstrated moderate improvements in emotional intelligence and reductions in perceived psychological risk, male participants reported a minor reduction in self-assessed emotional skills and an increase in reported psychological strain. Age-disaggregated analyses revealed distinct cohort responses: while the 50 + group showed substantial gains in emotional intelligence and affective wellbeing, the 31-50 cohort exhibited a more critical self-appraisal of emotional skills. Despite limitations inherent to a small pilot sample, self-report reliance, and a single-arm non-experimental design, this work offers valuable preliminary insights into designing gender-sensitive, intersectional, and reproducible health promotion strategies within high-stakes public institutions.